Maybe we should take it as a positive sign that there are no gay films on the Entertainment Weekly “Top 25 most controversial films” list. Not being controversial must be progress, right?

Actually, no. It’s surprising that movies like Brokeback Mountain and Philadelphia did not make the list, considering the huge cultural poopstorm that followed their respective releases, while Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ sits in the number one spot. It may seem like a minor oversight, but we suspect personal politics are at work, and we wish a magazine with as huge a readership as Entertainment Weekly would make a better effort to ensure more even-handed research.

If you’d like to tell the folks at Entertainment Weekly what you think about their lop-sided list, you can email them here.

Mel Gibson’s snuff film, aka “The Passion”, deserves its position at #1 on “EW”‘s list. It was indeed a controversial movie, given its assertions that the Roman Catholic “Stations of the Cross” are based on actual historical events. This of course is not true, since they are based on the visions of a 19th-century nun, Anne Catherine Emmerich, and not on any scriptural source.

The graphic and gross presentation of the suffering and punishment that Jesus faced prior to and during his crucifixion contribute to this film’s notorious status.

‘Brokeback’ was controversial only in that it presented a gay love story – but fortunately that in itself is no longer such a novelty that it would be included in the “EW” list.

Jun 12, 2006 at 2:53 pm · @Reply ·

blakjaxx

It’s all subjective, I could see their being a major issue if it were maybe the Top 100 Controversial films, but it’s only 25. Their are a lot of films that could have been selected including Pretty Baby, Hotel Newhampshire, Crusing, Midnight Cowboy, Life Of Brian, Citizen Kane, Salo, Straw Dogs, Irreversible and more. Now you could quibble that in their selection of the Top 25 what is more controversial, I mean I think the up roar over the Last Temptation Of Christ was probably more controversial, but again subjective.

The entire magazine is about video games now — and when they do write an entertainment story, they’ve usually copied it from a blog.

Jun 12, 2006 at 6:00 pm · @Reply ·

Christopher Fontenot

It is ashame that gay films are not controversial. Deviant behavior is being cast as normal and normal behavior is being demonized. A majority of The Passion of the Christ was extrabiblical but the brutality of the Roman scurging was actually less than what actually took place. Was it graphic? Yes. Should it have been? Yes. We need to understand what our sin looks like in the eyes of a Holy God. We need to understand what God was willing to do and the price He was willing to pay in order to redeem us. Watch it again until it sinks in that Jesus bore our sins in order to pay our debt owed to God for violating His Law. That is how much He loves us.

Homosexuality will not send you to hell. Hell is for liars, thieves, blasphemers, adulterers, fornicators, murderers, drunkards and cowards. Look at the commandments and see if you have broken any of them. If you have, you need Jesus to save you from the justice and the wrath of God…otherwise you are on your own.

from what i remember when i was reading my ex’s EW issues, they’re quite gay friendly. at times overly so. but that’s not the real issue.

the real issue here is the concern with lists, like this one, that are totally meaningless and used solely to fill up an otherwise slow entertainment newsweek (are there any other kinds? sorry, trent) in which the only thing that happened was lindsay lohan scowling on the red carpet. this happens all the time – AFI’s top 100 (american) films was an interesting idea, and potentially valid, but look what’s happened in the aftermath – 100 years 100 cheers? seriously?

also, we have no idea how the editors arrived at this list – are the films controversial as such? or are they going by the controversy over the release? or perhaps (most likely) a combination of both? remember, brokeback never would have been as controversial if it hadn’t been for the right-wing talk uproar – it had everything going for it in terms of a well-respected (if you don’t count hulk) director, two up-and-coming male leads, &c. there are plenty of films that i, personally, would put on that list ahead of brokeback – blakjaxx mentioned salo, with which i totally agree, and then i’d maybe put up pink flamingoes as well (which gets to another question – what makes a movie gay, exactly?).

besides – caligula is on there, and that one’s pretty darn gay if you ask me. i mean, gore vidal wrote it for heaven’s sake.

Jun 13, 2006 at 12:49 am · @Reply ·

Woody

Has anyone actually looked at the list? They do include BASIC INSTINCT because of the controversy it caused in the LGBT community. Don’t rant if you don’t know what you are talking about.